“Speaking of, how do you think they found out we were engaged…or rather, that you had proposed to me?” I tried to think about the people I’d told, but it hadn’t been many.
Herne blushed. “I might have, in my anticipation, mentioned it. My parents knew I asked you, and so did Ferosyn, and Kipa, and Raven and…well, a few others. And while I trusted them to keep it quiet, there’s no telling who might have overheard. I was just so excited, and so hopeful, that I had to tell someone about it.”
I blushed, realizing just how much I meant to him. “I never thought I’d make such a difference in someone’s life,” I said, feeling askance. I had been so focused on how the engagement would affect me that I had almost forgotten his feelings.
Herne stopped. We were on the path to his father’s palace. He turned to me, cupping my chin in his hands and tilting my head up. “Ember, never sell yourself short. I love you, more than you know. In one short year, you’ve become such a part of my world that I never want to let go. You’re my lover, my companion, my friend. It doesn’t matter that I’m a god and you’re mortal. You are my world. I’ll do my best to make you happy and that you never regret saying yes.”
My heart fluttered and I threw my arms around his waist, pulling him close as I sought his lips. He kissed me, long and hard, and I hoped I would never let him down.
After a moment, he pulled back. “Come, love,” he whispered. “We need to go meet Unkai.” And with that, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we continued walking toward the massive tree palace.
Cernunnos’s palace still seemed steeped in summer, but even so I could see the tinge of autumn creeping one step behind. The leaves were just beginning to turn color, and eventually, the forest would be a riot of burgundies and rusts. The palace was always magnificent, but during the summer it was at its height, the massive oaks that made up its foundation clad in a thousand shades of green, like the world tree incarnate.
The guards who had greeted us at the portal led us to the throne room. Cernunnos’s throne was in the center of the vast chamber, which was bigger than a football field. The room itself reminded me of a cavern, the walls formed of a swirling mass of roots and branches that wove together in a lignified fresco, a mural embedded into the walls and ceiling. Marble benches lined the walls, with matching tables nearby.
The ceiling glittered—literally—covered with dozens of stalactites. They flickered from within to form a web of light that spread through the room, illuminating every nook and cranny.
Cernunnos’s throne was also woven out of a tangle of roots and branches, and it looked as though it had grown out of the ground that way. Crystals and gems peeked out from the knots and burls in the wood, and the seat of the throne was cushioned with a pad of green velvet.
But of course the most striking part of the throne room was Cernunnos himself.
A massive man-god, he sat with his chest bare, rippling with muscles that were finely hewed from his flesh. His hair flowed down his back, bound into multiple braids, as black as the night, and his eyes shimmered gold and green, very much like a cat’s eyes. He was full-lipped and his smile was as beguiling as it was deadly.
I could see the resemblance between Herne and his father, and I wondered if in time, would my love grow to be as powerful and stately as the Lord of the Forest.
Cernunnos stood, his bearskin cape fastened around his shoulders with a gold chain and a knotwork brooch. He descended the steps from the seat of his throne and silently approached us as we stood in front of him. Without warning, he swept me up into a massive hug, his arms so strong they could have broken me into pieces. The scent of cinnamon and musk clouded my senses. He smelled like Herne.
I tried to catch my breath as Cernunnos’s greeting thundered through the room.
“Welcome, my daughter-to-be. Congratulations are in order, I understand. You have enchanted my son. May you make a man out of him, and may he be worthy of your trust.” As he let go of me, he kissed me on